BELLEVUE, WA – A federal district court judge in Illinois has denied that state’s motion to dismiss a legal challenge by the Second Amendment Foundation of its foster parenting rules that place restrictions on the possession of firearms for personal protection.
SAF filed the lawsuit last summer on behalf of Kenneth and Colleen Shults in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Named as a defendant in the case is George H. Sheldon, in his official capacity as director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS). SAF is joined by the Illinois State Rifle Association.
On Tuesday, District Judge Colin Stirling Bruce ruled that there are “sufficient factual allegations to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” The complaint alleges that the state has deprived Kenneth and Colleen Shults of their civil rights under color of law.
“We brought this action on behalf of the plaintiffs to establish that the state’s restrictions on the possession and carrying of firearms by foster parents is unconstitutional under both the Second and Fourteenth amendments,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We’re delighted that the judge will allow our action to go forward because it is important to establish that people do not surrender their Second Amendment rights in order to become foster parents. We’re in court to make sure that the state cannot discriminate against foster parents who merely wish to exercise the rights we’ve restored in Illinois.”
The case now enters the discovery phase, according to SAF attorney David Sigale of Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
The case is known as Shults et al v. Sheldon.